Toilet seat cover device for automatically laying toilet seat cover

ABSTRACT

A clean toilet seat capable of covering the toilet seat with a toilet seat cover sheet automatically, securely and quickly, with such a cover sheet being replaced at each time of use so that people can always avoid contact with skin of others, is provided. In a thing having a toilet seat body placed on a surface of a toilet stool body, and an opening and closing lid pivotally mounted to the toilet seat body and covering a surface of the toilet seat, a plurality of cover sheets are housed in the above-described opening and closing lid, and on an occasion of movement to close the opening and closing lid, the cover sheet covers the surface of the toilet seat body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a toilet seat of a western style toilet stool, and particularly relates to a method and means for covering a toilet seat with a cover paper sheet semi-automatically. The present invention relates to a toilet seat device for use by applying one's buttocks to the toilet seat of the toilet stool, and particularly to a device capable of automatically laying a toilet seat cover sheet on the toilet seat.

2. Description of the Related Art

Western style toilets become widely available recently in Japan, but what people feel uncomfortable when they use toilet stools is that they have to bring their skin in direct contact with the toilet seats on which others sat with their skin in contact therewith at the stools, and they sometimes have a fear that these conditions are unsanitary. This is true especially in public toilets in trains, air planes and the like which a number of unspecified persons use, where the toilet seats are sometimes stained with sweat and other things actually, and therefore people are so afraid of catching saprophytic bacteria such as skin diseases and venereal diseases, especially AIDS and the like that they take desperate measures such as wiping the toilet seats with toilet paper and the like, and using stools without bringing their hips in contact with the toilet seats in many cases.

As the solution of the above, napkins exclusively for wiping toilet seats are sold on the market, and the means for taking out only one covering paper sheet from a container of the covering paper sheets in the shape of a toilet seat, namely, in a horseshoe shape to cover the toilet seat with it is put into practice. However, all the means take time, and considering that people are in a hurry when they go to toilet stools, it cannot be said that these means are satisfactory. In the case of the latter means, the toilet seats cannot be sometimes covered properly with the cover paper sheet because the surfaces of the toilet seats are slippery.

As the solution to this, there is the means having the subject of holding the toilet seat paper sheet so as not to slip off without loss of use comfort of the toilet seat by providing a concavity on the toilet seat of the toilet stool, and the function of holding the paper sheet is included in it. Further, a toilet seat which can hold any one of an exclusive toilet seat paper sheet and toilet roll paper on its toilet seat and can be sanitarily used is contrived. (Refer to Patent Document 1)

However, this construction cannot be compatible with the existing toilet seats as they are. Since a shaft having a tip end in a semi-spherical shape is provided at the above-described concavity as the function of holding the paper sheet, so that the paper sheet is caught by this, the paper sheet is sometimes broken, and the paper sheet is sometimes displaced or falls off when one's hip is placed on the toilet seat.

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2003-299595 Abstract and FIG. 1

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to cover a toilet seat with a toilet seat cover sheet automatically, securely and quickly. In addition, it is also an object of the present invention to make it possible to provide a clean toilet seat by replacing such a cover sheet each time of use to always avoid contact with skin of others.

Another object is to make it possible to obtain an advantage of the present invention with a simple operation and structure at low cost so that many people can utilize it.

Another object of the present invention is to make it possible for anybody to place a set of toilet seat cover paper sheets simply without modifying the toilet stools themselves widely used at present, or with a minimum modification if they are modified so that further more people can utilize the present invention.

A characteristic of a toilet seat device with a cover sheet automatically laid thereon of the present invention is that in a thing having a toilet stool body; a toilet seat body placed on a surface of the toilet stool body; and an opening and closing lid pivotally mounted to the toilet seat body and covering a surface of a toilet seat, a plurality of cover sheets are housed in the above-described opening and closing lid, and a cover sheet covers a surface of the toilet seat body on a occasion of movement to close the opening and closing lid.

As a result of this, when a person uses the toilet stool, if the person opens the opening and closing lid, a new cover sheet is laid on the toilet seat there, and therefore the person can sit on the toilet seat comfortably and uses the toilet stool without considering that others used the stool previously. After the use, such a cover sheet is removed from the toilet seat and flushed down, and then, by the action to close the opening and closing lid, a cover sheet is automatically laid on the toilet seat again.

It is also the characteristic of the present invention that pressure sensitive adhesive holding mechanisms are provided on a surface of the above-described toilet stool body, and a cover sheet is attached to pressure sensitive adhesive members to cover a surface of the toilet seat body on a occasion of movement to close the opening and closing lid. In the present invention, when the cover sheet is laid on the toilet seat, the cover sheet is fixed by using the pressure sensitive adhesive. Consequently, there is no fear of the cover sheet being broken, or slipping off from the toilet seat, and an operation of removing it from the toilet seat after use is facilitated.

It is also the characteristic that the above-described pressure sensitive adhesive holding mechanism holds an adhesive so that a surface of the adhesive is exposed at an upper end portion, with a spring material for always pressing the above-described pressure sensitive adhesive member upward being placed at a terminal end portion, and has a push-moving rod which is inserted into the above-described toilet seat body.

As the operational effect of this, when the opening and closing lid is closed and the cover sheet is in contact with the adhesive and fixed, the adhesive force of the sheet and adhesive is added by the spring material pressing from under the adhesive, and the cover sheet is not removed easily even if a small force in the horizontal direction is applied to the cover sheet, other than the above-described cover sheet is fixed to the toilet seat.

In addition, it is one of the characteristics of the present invention that an elastomer resin is the most suitable for the pressure sensitive adhesive. Namely, while such an elastomer resin is comparatively strong in adhesive force, a peeling operation of the elastomer resin can be easily performed with an instantaneous force, and adhesion force reduced by contamination can be restored with a operation of wiping the surface and the like.

It is also the characteristic of the present invention that the above-described cover sheet is a paper material containing 10% or more bamboo powder. This is because the bamboo powder removes the odor, has a germicidal action, and is excellent in the comforting effect such as being soft in touch.

The present invention has the other excellent objects of the invention, characteristics and the operational effects, and they will become apparent in the explanation of the following embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an entire device;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view of a surface of a cover seat;

FIG. 4 is a view of surfaces of an upper lid and a lower lid of a cover sheet housing box;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an entire device including an auxiliary toilet seat;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional explanatory view of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a view of a surface of the auxiliary toilet seat;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged sectional view of an essential part of an adhesive layer.

[Description of Symbols]

-   1 Toilet stool body -   2 Toilet seat body -   3 Opening and closing lid -   4 Cover sheet -   5 Housing box -   6 Opened hole -   7 Concavity -   8 Concavity -   9 Wave form -   10 Upper lid -   11 Lower lid -   12 Ring Portion wall -   13 Ring portion -   14 Projection wall -   15 Projection wall -   16 Wave-shaped wall -   17 Through hole -   18 Projection piece -   19 Projection piece -   20 Through groove hole (upper lid) -   21 Through groove hole (upper lid) -   22 Through groove hole (lower lid) -   23 Through groove hole (lower lid) -   24 Concavity (lower lid) -   25 Concavity (lower lid) -   26 Projection piece (lower lid) -   27 Projection piece (lower lid) -   28 Through hole (lower lid) -   29 Magnetic force -   30 Auxiliary toilet seat -   31 Sub opening -   32 Body opening -   33 Adhesive -   34 Holding mechanism -   35 Projection -   36 Pressure sensitive type of adhesive -   37 Dish-like -   38 Male screw member -   39 Female screw member -   40 Coil spring

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Next, one embodiment of the present invention will be explained in accordance with the drawings.

In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a toilet stool body, and reference numeral 2 denotes a horizontal toilet seat body fixed to a surface of this toilet stool body. Reference numeral 3 denotes an opening and closing lid pivotally mounted to a rear side of the toilet seat body 2 to cover an entire surface of the toilet seat body 2.

EMBODIMENT 1

The above-described opening and closing lid 3 is in an inversed plate shape with a bottom surface being opened, and a housing box 5 for cover sheets 4 is fitted and fixed to the opening and closing lid 3, as shown in FIG. 2.

The shape of the cover sheet 4 is made of an extremely thin paper material or the like, and its plan shape is substantially the same as the shape of the toilet seat body 2 and can be housed in the housing box 5, as shown in FIG. 3.

In concrete, an opened hole 6 is in a central portion of the cover sheet 4, and at both sides of an upper part from the opened hole 6, two concavities 7 and 8 are located. A lower side is in a gentle wave form 9.

The housing box 5 for housing the cover sheets 4 is constituted of an upper lid 10 and a lower lid 11 as shown in FIG. 4. The upper lid 10 has a through-hole 17 corresponding to the opened hole 6 of the above-described cover sheet 4, in its center, and a ring portion wall 12 thereof is in substantially the same shape as a ring portion 13 of the above-described cover sheet 4, and is in a plate shape capable of normally housing about 50 to 100 of cover sheets 4.

At the both sides of the ring portion wall 12 of this upper lid 10, projection walls 14 and 15 corresponding to the concavities 7 and 8 at the both sides of the upper portion of the above-described cover sheet 4 are located, and its lower side also has a wave-shaped wall 16 corresponding to the wave form 9 at the lower side of the cover sheet 4.

As a result, the cover sheets 4 housed in this upper lid have the concavities 7 and 8 and the wave form 9 complicatedly butted to the projection walls 14 and 15 and the wave wall 16 of the upper lid 10, and therefore even when the number of cover sheets 4 becomes small, the fear of the cover sheets 4 being wrinkled or falling off from the through hole 17 is prevented.

Two projection pieces 18 and 19 are placed outwardly at both sides of the lower side of the ring portion wall 12 in the above-described lid 10, and two through groove holes 20 and 21 are placed at both sides of the concavities 14 and 15 at the upper portion. The lower lid 11 fitted to the upper lid 10 to stabilize and house the cover sheets 4 is in a substantially similar shape to the upper lid 10, and a size larger than the upper lid 10. The lower lid 11 has two through groove holes 22 and 23 at both sides of its lower side, and has two projection pieces 26 and 27 at both sides of concavities 24 and 25 at an upper portion.

A substantially triangular through hole 28 larger than the through hole 17 of the above-described upper lid 10 is located in a central part of the lower lid 11. Namely, after a number of cover sheets 4 are housed in an overlaid state in the upper lid 10, the projection pieces 19 and 18 of the upper lid 10 are fitted into the through groove hoes 22 and 23 of the lower lid 11, then an upper portion of the lower lid 11 is held and rotated by 180 degrees, then the upper and lower lids 10 and 11 are fitted to each other so as to be a double-ply, and next, the upper projection pieces 26 and 27 of the lower lid 11 are fitted into the upper through groove holes 20 and 21, where by the cover sheets can be securely housed in the housing box 5.

Various means for securely fitting and fixing this housing box 5 to a back surface of the opening and closing lid 3 are considered, but the means for providing positive and negative magnets 29 at a suitable position at the back surface of the above-described upper lid 10 and at the corresponding position of the opening and closing lid 3 and the like are generally considered.

Means for laying the cover sheet 4 on the above-described toilet body 2 may be provided with a mechanism for fixing the cover sheet on the surface of the toilet body 2, but an auxiliary toilet seat 30 is generally placed on the surface of the toilet seat body 2 in order to place the device of the present invention on the existing toilet seat body 2. This auxiliary toilet seat is comparatively thick, and made of a soft synthetic resin, synthetic rubber or the like, and its outer (plane) shape thereof is substantially the same as that of the above-described cover sheet 4, but a through opening 31 in its central portion has its inner edge bent downward to an inner side, which is along the shape of a through opening 32 at a center of the toilet seat body 2.

The auxiliary toilet seat 30 is stuck to the surface of the toilet seat body 2 via a peelable adhesive 33, and in this case, it is important for the adhesive to have sufficient adhesive strength so that the auxiliary toilet seat 30 does not slip or is not deformed when “a person” sits on the auxiliary toilet seat 30 to use it.

Reference numeral 34 in FIG. 4 to FIG. 7 denotes a holding mechanism of a pressure sensitive adhesive as described above, two of which are provided at an upper portion of the surface of the auxiliary toilet seat 30, and one of which is provided in a form of projection 35 at each of the both sides of a lower portion, and the detailed construction of it can be seen in FIG. 9.

Namely, in the drawing, reference numeral 38 denotes a male screw member in a plate shape with its upper end surface being located at an upper position from a top surface of the above-described projection 35, and with a pressure sensitive type of adhesive layer 36 being filled, and its screw portion is screwed into a female screw member 39 buried in the projection 35 portion of the above-described auxiliary toilet seat 30.

A coil spring 40 inserted into the auxiliary toilet seat 30 is wound around a lower portion of the female screw member 39, and the coil spring 40 has an important role of always pressing the female spring member 39, the male spring member 38 and the adhesive layer 36 upward.

Explaining an operation of the toilet seat device of the present invention constructed as above, it is assumed that the use of the toilet stool is completed now, and the cover seat 4 on the auxiliary toilet seat 30 is removed and flushed down.

When the opening and closing lid 3 is closed in this state, the cover seat 4 in the housing box 5 is in contact with three pressure sensitive adhesive layers 36 on the surface of the auxiliary toilet seat 30. In this case, the adhesive layers 36 are always pressed upward by the male and female screw members 38 and 39 receiving back pressure of the coil spring 40, and therefore adhesion of the cover seat 4 and the adhesive layers 36 is secured.

A person who uses the toilet seat of the present invention first opens the opening and closing lid 3 by sector portion movement, and at this time only the cover sheet 4 at the surface of the above-described cover sheets 4 (correctly, the cover sheet at the lowest position) is taken out of the housing box, and correctly laid on the surface of the auxiliary toilet seat 30.

It is determined that the elastomer resin is the most excellent as the above-described pressure sensitive adhesive layer 36 among a number of resin materials as a result of the repeated experiments.

The reason of this is that since an adhesive is mixed in the elastomer resin, the elastomer resin can be easily peeled off while having a sufficient adhesive force, and even if the adhesive force is reduced by contamination, the adhesive force can be restored quickly by wiping or cleaning the elastomer resin.

As a quality of the material of the above-described cover sheet 4, the paper material containing 10% or more bamboo power is the most suitable. This is because natural bamboos that are a raw material of the bamboo powder have propagated too much recently and becomes a big social problem, which makes the bamboo powder easily available in large quantity at low price; the bamboo powder gives a shine on the surface of the paper which gives good appearance; and further it is known that the bamboo powder has a deodorization effect and germicidal action. The shape of the toilet stool body 1 is basically the same in any western style toilet stools, but the shapes are slightly different in accordance with the manufacturers and the models, and the shape of the cover sheet housing box 5 is properly changed in accordance with the shape of the toilet seat body 2 correspondingly, and what is conforming to the purport of the present invention is all within the technical scope of the present invention.

The effect of the present invention in general is that since the toilet seat body can be covered with the cover sheet securely, quickly and automatically as described above, the toilet stool can be used instantly with the clean toilet seat without direct contact of the toilet seat body with human skin, and with contact with skin of others being avoided.

Further, the structure is simple and strong as described above, and the operation at the time of using the stool, is only to make the cover sheets in the opening and closing lid abut to the toilet seat body, and only one of the sheets is laid on the toilet seat body, which is very simple, thus making it possible for many people to obtain the advantage of the present invention at comparatively low price.

When the cover sheets housed in the opening and closing lid are used up, a new bundle of the cover sheets only have to be placed therein, and thus the operation is extremely simple. 

1. A toilet seat device with a cover sheet automatically laid thereon in a thing comprising a toilet stool body; a toilet seat body placed on a surface of the toilet stool body; and an opening and closing lid pivotally mounted to the toilet seat body and covering a surface of the toilet seat, wherein a plurality of cover sheets are housed in said opening and closing lid, and a cover sheet covers a surface of the toilet seat body on a occasion of movement to close the opening and closing lid.
 2. A toilet seat device with a cover sheet automatically laid thereon in a thing comprising a toilet stool body; a toilet seat body placed on a surface of the toilet stool body and provided with pressure sensitive adhesive holding mechanisms on a surface thereof; and an opening and closing lid pivotally mounted to the toilet seat body and covering a surface of the toilet seat, wherein a plurality of cover sheets are housed in said opening and closing lid, and a cover sheet is attached to pressure sensitive adhesive members to cover a surface of the toilet seat body on a occasion of movement to close the opening and closing lid.
 3. The toilet seat device with a cover sheet automatically laid thereon according to claim 2, wherein the pressure sensitive adhesive holding mechanism holds an adhesive so that a surface of the adhesive is exposed at an upper end portion, with a spring material for always pressing the pressure sensitive adhesive member upward being placed at a terminal end portion, and has a push-moving rod which is inserted into said toilet seat body.
 4. The toilet seat device with a cover sheet automatically laid thereon according to claim 2, wherein the pressure sensitive adhesive is an elastomer resin.
 5. The toilet seat device with a cover sheet automatically laid thereon according to claim 1, wherein the cover sheet is a paper material containing 10% or more bamboo powder.
 6. The toilet seat device with a cover sheet automatically laid thereon according to claim 3, wherein the pressure sensitive adhesive is an elastomer resin.
 7. The toilet seat device with a cover sheet automatically laid thereon according to claim 4, wherein the cover sheet is a paper material containing 10% or more bamboo powder.
 8. The toilet seat device with a cover sheet automatically laid thereon according to claim 6, wherein the cover sheet is a paper material containing 10% or more bamboo powder. 